Back in Business: Have a Birthday Party Away from Home

Interactive Neighborhood for Kids

If you’re ready to put the party planning into someone else’s hands, check out these venues that are now open for birthday parties. Party places are following guidelines and creating safety procedures to protect guests from the spread of coronavirus. These protocols can include private parties, limiting capacity, added cleaning and sanitization, requiring masks, checking temperatures, enforcing social distancing and more. “If people do not seem safe at Tiny Towne, they will not seem safe anywhere,” says Tiny Towne founder Pierre Maalouf of the new safety measures.

Ready Set FUN! in Sandy Springs is an indoor playground and birthday venue. “We have elaborate birthday parties, and we specialize in birthday events. Birthday party packages are A-Z all-inclusive – parents just need to walk in,” says Hedi Toub, the creative director and founder. “Packages are completely customizable and curated to parents’ needs.”

As part of the safety precautions during this time, all birthday events are private at no extra charge. The venue has multiple hand sanitizing stations and has set up HEPA filters with UV lights. All employees are wearing PPE, and masks are required for ages 6 and older.

Ready Set FUN! is also offering a Birthday in a Box program, where they will deliver all the necessary birthday supplies, such as plates, napkins, custom cupcakes, balloons and more to your house for a special at-home celebration.

Dunwoody Nature Center’s birthday parties are exclusively for members and include the reservation of the screened-in back porch of the main building.

Party educators are required to follow certain safety protocols, according to program manager Caroline Williamson. These include: wiping down and sanitizing surfaces before the party, taking guests’ temperatures, requiring masks for anyone over the age of 10, distributing hand sanitizer or directing guests to the bathrooms for hand washing upon arrival, keeping the building locked to prevent other visitors to Dunwoody Nature Center from entering, and wiping down surfaces and items after the party.

“Party families will be asked to keep their total group size to 25 people or less,” Williamson says. “We also are currently not booking back-to-back parties to allow for plenty of time to clean in between and for air circulation in the party room.”

Nature-themed activities and fun change depending on the party theme and the age of the birthday child. Entertainment and educational activities include seasonal fun, learning about bugs and insects, a worm hunt hike, scavenger hunts, exploring Wildcat Creek, s’mores or owls.

Tiny Towne

Tiny Towne in Norcross is open with private space booking before and after hours for events. Sanitizers are available at the main entrance, throughout the facility and in every party room. Guests must wear a face mask, and temperatures are taken upon arrival. Cars, trains and games are sanitized by employees after each use, and sanitizer wipes are also available for guests.

“Tiny Towne is a 36,000 square foot facility, so social distancing is not a problem,” says Maalouf. “Everything we are doing makes Tiny Towne a safer place than having a party at home. You can have the entire place to yourselves for 20 people, when our normal capacity is 520 people. We can do whatever the parents want, with whatever their budget is or whatever makes them feel safe.”

Maalouf also says that before the COVID-19 pandemic, Tiny Towne received a bunch of new games, so visitors can expect new experiences at the venue, along with their strict safety precautions.

Interactive Neighborhood for Kids in Gainesville has a variety of birthday party packages. The venue is holding birthday parties on Saturdays with a maximum capacity of 30 people. Only 50 people are allowed in the building at one time.

“It’s very easy to have a social distancing party,” says executive director Mandy Volpe. “INK has 25,000 square feet and can hold 600 people, so there’s a lot of room to spread out. Birthday parties are held in our largest room, which could hold 100 people, so with 30 people in the room, it is very easy to stay socially distanced.”

The museum is also requiring masks for all adults, and they close in between the 2-hour play sessions in order to clean surfaces and items. They also have seven hand sanitizers set up, and two hand washing stations, along with the bathrooms. In September, according to Volpe, they are receiving an ozone cleaning machine to help clean toys and costumes. “It’s another way that we have upped our cleaning game,” she says.

Other venues around Atlanta have reopened for birthday parties. Sky Zone, with four currently open metro Atlanta locations, has hours before and after the park is open to the general public for private birthday parties with jump time, a party space, pizza, drinks, a party host, supplies and invitations. The Pink Hotel in Stone Mountain offers the entire 10,000 square foot facility for an exclusive party. Guests must pass a non-touch temperature check, and they provide masks and hand sanitizer. Treetop Quest, with locations in Dunwoody and Gwinnett, is requiring guests to wear face masks and encouraging participants to bring their own gloves. Social distancing is enforced while on the ground and in the trees, harnesses are being washed frequently, and staff will wear masks and appropriate PPE.

To find more information about party places in the metro area, check out our Ultimate Guide.